Class of 1989

Class Correspondent

Steve Mirmina teaches outer-space law as an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University. He has worked as an attorney at NASA headquarters since 1999. Steve has helped negotiate and conclude more than 400 international agreements for missions throughout NASA, ranging from human space flight to Mars exploration. He is also the lead attorney for NASA’s telecommunications issues, and he has written and spoken widely on the issue of space debris in particular and international air and space law generally. Monica Harris Susel lives in the suburbs of Baltimore with her husband, Steve; daughter Sasha, who’s in kindergarten; and son Zachary, a preschooler. Monica is a vice president and chief compliance officer at the broker/dealer affiliate of the Carlyle Group in Washington, D.C. Aaron Greberman reports, “I teach IB (international baccalaureate) business management at the Bodine High School for International Affairs, in Philadelphia. Currently I’m coaching the boys’ varsity tennis team, and in the fall I coach girls’ varsity volleyball. Last year, I was honored with the Dr. Ruth Wright Hayre Teacher of the Year Award.” Michelle Fiddler checks in to announce that she and her husband, Richard Kopacz, have a daughter, Presley Jessica, who was born on Valentine’s Day. Ted Porterfield let us know that he has added a little girl, Julia (born Aug. 22, 2011) to his “crazy” brood of three boys — Luke, 9, and twins Jake and Sam, 6. He also had the opportunity to meet up with Dave Renzella ’88 at Dave’s club, FLUXX, in San Diego. Ted reports, “We are both exactly the same!” Rachel Freedman Lucas is a freelance publicist living in Boston with her husband and two children. In addition, she is enjoying managing her son’s fledgling acting career. Jason has been featured in several local and national commercials, including a spot for Dragon software. He can also be seen as young Charles Adams in a documentary about the Adams Family that premiered this summer at the John Adams National Historical Park, in Quincy, Mass. Wendy Ellison Armon lives outside Philadelphia with her three kids (Ross, Spencer and Tess) and her husband, Bruce Armon. She is the director of a nonprofit, InterFaithways, that welcomes and encourages interfaith couples to be involved with the Jewish community. Wendy also recently played the role of Velma in “Hairspray.” Her son asked if it was difficult to be so mean. She replied, “Of course it was a challenge!” She loved the experience and hopes to do it again, and adds that she had forgotten how much she loves to sing. In her free time, she still takes the family to Kiawah Island, S.C., where they all enjoy kayaking and visiting numerous cousins in Charleston. Stephanie Tilenius ’89, M.A.’90, previously vice president of commerce and payments at Google, was promoted to a new role overseeing global strategy and the expansion of the company’s international commerce. She previously worked in senior positions at eBay and PayPal.